1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a ceramic gas burner for a hot-blast stove of a blast furnace. Typically, such a burner has central gas duct that opens into a central zone of a burner crown and side air ducts on both sides of the gas duct which also open in the central zone. The invention also relates to a method for operating such a ceramic burner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hot blast stoves, which act as regenerative heat exchangers for the heating of blast air for a blast furnace, are well known. A burner as described above is known from European patent specification EP-A-0306072. In this known burner, the relative positioning of the outflow openings of the gas and air ducts, together with recesses formed by grooves in the long sides of the outflow openings, is intended to lower the point where the mixing turbulence is complete. This has a positive effect on the stability of the flame as well as the uniformity and completeness of the combustion of the combustion gas.
The degree of completeness of combustion, the so-called burn-out, is dependent on the height above the burner at which maximum burn-out is achieved, that is to say that maximum burn-out is only achieved at a specific height above the burner. The trend of the burn-out as a function of the height above the burner may be imagined as a rising curve which approaches the maximum burn-out asymptotically.